Destruction - The Oasis Project Book 2 (Complete)

Thirty-Three - Ira

When we stepped out of the car and into the freezing night air in the desert, we were changed people. Four of us were left, and four of us were determined to rescue the lost girl that we somehow already lost two people over. Wrapping protective scarves over our faces, we stepped into the darkness.

We were on high alert as we watched the stars above to make sure we were heading south-east, Yulian and me at the front and Keshav and Evgeny behind us. I was the highest ranked now that we lost Emma, so everybody's life rested on my shoulders. Shao had stayed behind with the car; we needed to make the last leg of the trip on foot. Four was last spotted at a Bedouin camp not far from here, and with Oasis monitoring over the past few days, we had no reason to believe that she had left.

It didn't make sense, Four being with a clan of nomads or the truck that killed Linkin and Emma out of nowhere. "I don't like this," I muttered in Russian.

"No shit," Evgeny replied in English.

"We got this." Keshav was the only motivational one in our group, and maybe we needed to be more like him.

Sand gave way under our thick boots, and although our destination didn't look too far on the map, my tiring legs begged to differ. My head was full of thoughts on how we could improve this raid with two people down, that I forgot to focus ahead of me. I stepped into a small dip in the sand, and between the heavy pack that would guarantee me survival on my own for a few days and the rifle slung across my body, I lost my balance.

"Careful." Before I could fall, Yulian hauled me back up. "You are still so clumsy."

I shook my head, utterly embarrassed. Coordination and precision have never been any help; I had relied on unpredictability to get me through life so far. Luckily, Keshav and even Evgeny stayed quiet about my accident. We were all anxious to get out of here in one piece, and taunting each other wasn't going to make anything better, not even for the slightly annoying Evgeny.

"Anybody see the tents over there?" I asked in English. The wind picked up and made the thick fabric flap against my face. I held an arm in front of me to block the sand that was thrown at me by the weather. The others had night-vision goggles on.

"Yes, eagle eye," Evgeny replied, a little too loudly. The name made me tense, but the others confirming that they could see the target helped me push the extra thoughts out of my mind.

"Be quiet," I muttered. "Get ready to search."

The sounds of our footsteps were nothing compared to the howling wind, which slowed down our progress. I wondered if the people in the Bedouin camp were fast asleep if they were used to the weather. Would Four be tied up, gagged, drugged? If we couldn't get her out of the vicinity quickly and quietly enough, we would have to open fire. It wasn't out of my expectations; in fact, it was how I expected this to turn out. We'd been through the plan so many times after Linkin and Emma's car rolled over, so many times that it was all that occupied my memory, not our teammates' fates. At first, I hated Shao for ignoring the other car, but we needed to keep our heads together.

Evgeny and Keshav would help Four get to the car first, and Yulian and I were to provide cover. I was surprised at first that Shao assigned the smaller Keshav to the more physically demanding task, but he would have noticed the way that Yulian and I interacted, thinking that we would work together more smoothly. A wise choice, if the Yulian I knew from childhood was anything to go by. I couldn't imagine the babyfaced Keshav shooting to kill.

The camp was quiet. It was set up in a relatively flat zone away from dunes. Not a lamp was lit, and the only evidence of a campfire was as cold as the night. We split up and searched the tents on our own, waiting until the wind calmed down to take a peek inside. I was careful not to let much starlight or moonlight into the tents. The Bedouins were sleeping soundly, and I didn't think much about their unconscious forms under their colourful rugs until I saw the muzzle of a gun poking out from a bearded man's blanket. It dawned on me that all of the people I saw in the camp were men.

I held my breath and didn't let it out until I found Yulian. "We need to regroup and reassess," I whispered in his ear in English, not knowing how to express it in Russian. "Get the others out," I told him in Russian when he took a moment to translate in his head.

He didn't question me, just tapped twice on his earpiece which was the signal for retreat. I was grateful that Yulian still trusted me as much as he used to; every second counted as we made our way back to the vast ocean of sand, making sure to keep an eye on the camp.

"What is it?" Evgeny demanded when we were out of earshot, not bothering to hide his annoyance.

"This is not right. They were-" I stopped when Yulian laid a hand on my arm and held a finger to where his lips were behind the rough scarf. The wind had picked up again, and Yulian was edging back towards the camp, slowly raising his rifle in front of him. I did the same. I told Evgeny and Keshav to stay put and crept after Yulian, wanting to ask him what the matter was, but knowing that he'd heard something and was trying to investigate past the wind and sand that were threatening to blow us over.

Sand was getting in my eyes, and I could barely keep them open. With the grains pummelling against my body, I didn't distinguish the sharp jab on the side of my neck until I felt my left shoulder go numb. The rest of my body gave up control in a matter of seconds, and I collapsed sideways, sand collecting at the back of my throat. I couldn't see where Yulian was, but I saw something fly over me in the direction that we came from. There was nothing that I could do but watch the fire of the grenade light up the sky, choking as I breathed in sand mixed with disgusting smoke. I was drowning, in the worst possible way. This time, it wasn't just me fighting against Celestia. I'd taken three people down with me.